Attack of the Living Scarecrow
"Attack of the Living Scarecrow" is the first episode A of the first season of the television series Mona the Vampire. It, along with its sister episode "The Robot Babysitter", is the series premiere. Plot The episode begins in Madeleine Gotto's classroom in St. Faith's Elementary, where the students are making class presentations for an unspecified reason. Angela Smith is the first student shown presenting. She presents about her parents winning the lottery, and shows the class a multitude of things her parents bought her with the lottery money, such as automatically lacing shoes. The other students are very amused, although Mona Parker does not seem to care, and is not paying attention. Before Angela is finished, Miss Gotto, for the sake of time, pushes Angela away and declares that her presentation is over. Miss Gotto then calls Mona up for her class presentation. Mona presents about her belief in the Living Scarecrow, a creature that leaves the graveyard every night roaming the town in search of human brains, turning his victims into zombies. Mona uses Mr. Arley, the former church gardener, as an example. She believes that Mr. Arley was one of the Living Scarecrow's victims who had disappeared because of his victimization. Miss Gotto ridicules this and points out that Mr. Arley is not a "victim", and, speaking the truth, says that Mr. Arley is not present because he moved away to Connecticut with his sister, as the other students implicatively know. She pulls Mona back to her seat, who, at the same time, declares that the Living Scarecrow is deluding the others. She also declares that the Living Scarecrow's power source is his hat, and that she will definitely stop him. The last presenter to be shown is Charley Bones, who, presenting about carbon, his favorite element in the periodic table, is only shown for a short period of time, as this presentation is not as important to the plot of the episode. Dare In the next scene, the kids are all having recess in the schoolyard. As Mona is with Lily Duncan and Charley, Angela scornfully criticizes Mona's presentation by saying that there isn't actually a Living Scarecrow and that Mona isn't actually a vampire. Mona then denies this, but Angela then points out that no one believes her. Charley then angrily states that he believes her, also saying to Mona that he will stick up for her. Just then, ironically, he is hit by a ball thrown by George Jamell, who accuses Charley (whom he refers to at this moment as "Knees"; see below) of scuffing his ball. Charley sarcastically apologizes. In So Greatest from Mona Parker Charley Bones and Lily Duncan Angela Smith Shaw Bear who George Jamell Fang (disambiguation) Let's Go Spooky Halloween. Investigation and the practical joke In the next scene, Mona is at her house looking for her glow-in-the-dark fangs. She calls Mr. Parker, her father, from across the house asking him where they are, and he replies that the fangs are on the kitchen sink. With Fang, her cat and "sidekick", she, in her Mona the Vampire outfit, then goes to the living room to say goodbye to Mr. Parker, explaining that she is meeting Charley and Lily to stop the Living Scarecrow. As she kisses his cheek and walks away, Mr. Parker says to be back before Mrs. Parker, Mona's mom, is back from her karate class. In the next scene, Mona, Lily, Charley, and Fang are walking on the sidewalk beside the local graveyard in their Mona the Vampire, Princess Giant, and Zapman outfits. As they walk, Mona re-explains the concept of the Living Scarecrow to them, saying that when he eats a person's brain, that person becomes a zombie, and adds that without a brain, zombies have a poor sense of direction, causing them to get lost and "disappear", like Mr. Arley. As Mona and the others are about to enter the graveyard, Mona spots and points out the scarecrow which she believes is the Living Scarecrow. As they all walk towards a tree behind the scarecrow, Mona says that he is "still sleeping" and that they have to act quickly in order to stop him. When they all are behind the tree, Zapman asks what they should do. Mona then tells him to watch her and walks up behind the scarecrow. She tries to jump to reach his hat several times, but fails, so she says to the others that she will need a boost. Lily and Charley run to Mona, but Charley is the one to use his hands to lift Mona. Just then, the scarecrow turns its head around and looks at them! Mona, Princess Giant, and Zapman all screamed. Zapman drops Mona and he and Princess Giant run away screaming. However, Mona stays behind a few more seconds as the scarecrow walks toward her, then she runs screaming. Mona, Princess Giant, and Zapman are all shown running out of the graveyard, and when they were gone, Angela and George hop out of the scarecrow laughing, as they turned out to be inside of the scarecrow with George controlling the legs and Angela controlling the rest of the body. This was the practical joke they had planned to play on Mona and the others earlier in the episode. As they get out of the inside of the scarecrow, George and Angela high-five each other and mock Mona and the others, and Angela says that she will tell everyone at their school about the prank. George tries to respond to her, but before he can finish, they see a figure who looks like the scarecrow, so they run away screaming. Ironically, it turns out to only be a man named Alistair (his name is not mentioned yet) who is looking for a part-time job in the town. That night, both Angela and George are shown in their beds shivering because of their fears of the Living Scarecrow. However, Mona is shown in her room awake, showing Fang how she assumes zombies look using a facial expression and a noise, as Fang sits in their bed shivering in fear. She then says that she thinks the Living Scarecrow is her "greatest foe yet" (it becomes clear throughout the series, including this episode, that she has had similar experiences with monsters, ghouls, etc. before the time of the plot). She then looks up at the full moon and the Living Scarecrow appears in a shadow, taking off his hat and cackling an evil laugh. At school the next day The next day in class, as Miss Gotto is writing math problems on the board, she explains that Reverend Gregory wanted everyone in the Stamp Club to know that there will be a meeting at the local church that night. Charley tells Lily that the church is right next to the graveyard, where the Living Scarecrow supposedly abides, and afraidly asks what would happen if they saw the Living Scarecrow. Just then, Mona and Fang barge into the classroom; Mona wearing her Mona the Vampire outfit and Fang wearing his wings. Miss Gotto scolds Mona, telling her that she knows the rules about vampires not being allowed in the classroom. However, Mona argues by asking how else she will save the town from the Living Scarecrow. Miss Gotto is about to tell Mona that she had had enough of her vampire nonsense, but is interrupted by a shadow of a figure entering the classroom door wearing a hat much like that of the Living Scarecrow's. Confusing the figure for the Living Scarecrow, Mona kicks the door closed in his face, knocking him down. This freaks the entire class out, making them run around and scream. As Miss Gotto begs the class to settle down, Mona opens the door, ready to face the Living Scarecrow. Unfortunately, the figure was, yet again, not the Living Scarecrow, and was instead Principal Shawbly, the school principal. Miss Gotto gasps, and Mona nervously says good morning to Principal Shawbly. Principal Shawbly's office In the next scene, Mona and Mr. Parker are having a talk with Principal Shawbly in his office. Principal Shawbly asks what would be next if he "allowed vampires in the classroom", and used werewolves and ghoulie-ghouls as an example. Mona ironically responds that she could fight them off for him, but Mr. Parker tells her to cut it out and apologize to him. She apologizes and says that the incident will not happen again, and Principal Shawbly dismisses the discussion by telling her to remember her words. Zombies Later that night, Mona and Fang, still in their alter-ego outfits, are again at their house, looking for some items that she can use to stop the Living Scarecrow. She first is shown calling across the house to her mother, asking her where the salt and the garlic are, and though her mother is confused, she answers that the salt is on the counter and that the garlic is in the fridge. Mona gets out the items, and additionally a Spanish onion ("just in case"), and puts them in her skirt pocket, telling Fang that what is "out there" is unknown, implying that they must be prepared. In the next scene, Mona and Fang are outside, as they imagine that there are zombies everywhere. She sprinkles salt at 2 of the supposed zombies, turning them to dust. They then see the Living Scarecrow walk by, cackling to himself, and Mona and Fang run after him. Stamp Club meeting interruption In the next scene, everyone is at the Stamp Club meeting in a room at the church. Angela is again showing off her automatically lacing shoes, this time mentioning that they are the only ones like it in the whole country. By now, everyone is very bored by this and do not appear to be paying attention to Angela. Reverend Gregory dismisses Angela's speech by calling it "very nice", and switches the discussion to stamps, the original reason they are all at this meeting. As Angela is ignoring him, she continues to give her speech, when Mona and Fang burst into the door, Mona claiming that the Living Scarecrow is outside. George looks out the window and sees Alistair, and, again confusing him with the Living Scarecrow, he freaks out and accidentally backs up into Fang, stepping on his tail, and Fang then bites his leg in frustration. George spins around everywhere, and everyone freaks out and runs outside the room, Zapman claiming that George is a zombie, and Reverend Gregory sighs and shakes his head. Preparations Mona Charley Lily Duncan Angela Smith George and Fang Scarecrow Spooky Day at Septembre and About. Battle with the Living Scarecrow As Mona and Fang walk away, the scene switches to their imaginations. Just when Mona senses trouble, she looks behind her, and she sees the Living Scarecrow right behind her, who, again, cackles. He takes a few steps toward Mona, and Mona does a series of backflips, kicks, and jumps, likely for extra excitement. She then takes the salt out of her skirt pocket, and sprinkles it on him. The Living Scarecrow only laughs and points at her, because the salt did not have any effect on him, and Mona assumes that salt only has an effect on zombies. She then takes the clove of garlic out of her skirt pocket as well and throws it in his mouth, thinking that this will defeat him, but the Living Scarecrow laughs yet again, as the garlic also had no effect. He then lifted his hat and, with the hat, zapped Mona, trapping her inside of a "Mega-Creep Energy Field", a circular energy field, which makes it hard for her to move. She reaches for Fang, hoping that Fang will get her out of the energy field. This lets her escape the energy field, but because she touched Fang, it switched to trapping Fang instead. Mona then pulls out a mirror, and, using the mirror, deflects the laser powering the energy field back at the Living Scarecrow, knocking him down, and Mona compliments Fang on his good work. She points out that the Living Scarecrow lost his hat, mentions again that he's powerless without it, and tells Fang to get his hat while she distracts him. As they planned, while Fang grabs the Living Scarecrow's hat, Mona distracts the Living Scarecrow by egging him on, which made him angry. Then she took out the Spanish onion and threw it at the Living Scarecrow, which caused him to take off running, because his power source was gone, and Mona thought that he was running toward the net, which was their original plan the entire time. She then put on the Living Scarecrow's hat, and Mona and Fang ran after him. Episode conclusion Mona and Fang went back to Zapman and Princess Giant, who had caught someone that they thought was the Living Scarecrow. Mona compliments Princess Giant on Zapman for a job well done, and they both let down the figures from the trap. As they let the figures down, they figured out that it was Reverend Gregory and Alistair, who Zapman, again, confused for the Living Scarecrow, inside the net. Reverend Gregory then introduces Alistair to the three children, as the new church gardener replacing Mr. Arley, whom he had hired very recently. Mona says that even though the Living Scarecrow did not fall into their trap, he won't be causing anymore trouble without his hat, and Princess Giant and Zapman cheer in excitement. However, Reverend Gregory argues that the hat is actually that of Alistair's, but Alistair answers that he has his hat, which confuses Reverend Gregory. Reverend Gregory then kindly suggests that they conclude their "meeting" with a snack of milk and cookies, and the children are excited and run back inside. However, Mona and Fang stay behind for another moment and Mona says that the Living Scarecrow is defeated, however there are many more monsters and such waiting for her, but says that they can "wait until after snacktime." She then runs inside with the rest. Ironically, it is shown at the last moments of the episode that Angela and George are still in the trash cans hiding from the Living Scarecrow, afraid to come out. Cast Uncredited appearances * Alistair * Mr. Arley * Fang * Lawrence * Living Scarecrow Broadcasting information The episode originally aired on September 13, 1999. Background Some situations in the episode "Attack of the Living Scarecrow" are based on those from the ''Mona the Vampire'' book The Jackpot Disaster, a book originally published in 1996 by Orchard Books, written by Hiawyn Oram and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman, the producer of the Mona the Vampire television series. Though the overall plots of the book and the episode greatly differ, many ideas from the episode originated from this book. In the beginning of the episode, during a class presentation, Angela presents the story of her parents winning the lottery, and shows numerous items that her family bought for Angela after winning the lottery. Angela especially shows off her automatically lacing shoes. The Jackpot Disaster represents a similar scenario in the chapter Angela the More Horrible v. the Vampire, where Angela, during the class's show and tell, presents a number of items resulting in her father's "jackpot", including, just like in the episode, automatically lacing shoes. In another scene of the episode, Mona claims in her presentation that there is a Living Scarecrow roaming town, eating people's brains, and turning people into zombies, and that without his hat, the Living Scarecrow is powerless. Angela, in a later scene, dares Mona to prove that the Living Scarecrow exists by bringing the Living Scarecrow's hat into the school the next day. Similarly, in the chapter A Flash of Inspiration of the book, Mona makes a claim that she talks to witches in the churchyard on Wednesdays that teach Mona spells. Angela then dares Mona to take Angela to these supposed witches that coming Wednesday. Background information Home video releases Production notes Production inconsistencies Trivia Book basing :Main article: ''The Living Scarecrow'' (book) There was a book published in 2001 called The Living Scarecrow based on the episode. The book's plot is almost entirely the same, except abridged. Other media "Attack of the Living Scarecrow" is featured in the DVDs Show us your fangs!, the first disc of The Complete First Season, and the third disc of Girls Animation Bundle. The episode is also mentioned on the website Mona the Vampire, on the page The night of the living scarecrow, which gives a short description of the plot of the episode, supposedly in Mona's perspective. Translations ::"Attack of the Living Scarecrow" :::"L'attaque de l'épouvantail vivant" :::"L'épouvantail vivant passe à l'attaque" :::::"The Living Scarecrow goes on the attack" See also * ::Wikipedia's redirect on Attack of the Living Scarecrow (hard, soft) * ::Night of the Living Scracrow/The Robot Babysitter on IMDB fr:L'Épouvantail_vivant_passe_à_l'attaque Category:Season 1 Episodes Category:Episodes